The First Time
by Ellaphant12
Summary: What was Mack and Brady's life like before the events of Teen Beach Movie? Summary sucks but please R&R!
1. Prologue - Everything

Prologue - Everything

"I _still _can't believe your aunt let you stay." Brady said, entwining our fingers as we walked down the beach.

"I know," I said, swinging our arms back and forth, "And it's thanks to you. If you weren't here, I would probably be out of here by now."

"I bet you're pretty glad you met someone like me, right?" he said cheekily.

"Of course," I replied poking him.

"You know," he began, "I still remember that day."

"What day?" I asked, curious.

"The day we met." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I remember. You were the blonde surfer with the big ego." I said, teasingly.

"Hey!" he shouted, mock offended. "That's not very nice."

"Aw," I cooed, "Is little Brady hurt?"

He laughed and shoved me. I shoved him too. He shoved me back. Pretty soon, we were both on the sand, giggling.

I looked at him and smiled.

"What?" he said.

"Nothing," I replied. "I'm just thinking how I'm glad I stayed here."

"Me too," he said smiling, before kissing me sweetly.

"We should probably head back inside." I said, a couple minutes later.

"You're right." He said, but he didn't make a move to get up.

We just laid there for what felt like forever. Finally I got to my feet.

"Come on, grandpa will be worried." I said. He just kept staring into space.

"Remember when we first…" he commented, trailing off.

"What?" I asked, looking down at him.

He looked up at me, a smile on his face.

"Everything"

**Author's Notes: There you go. I know it's short, but it's a prologue. Go with it. Hope it's not too OOC. And sorry in advance if I base Brady on Austin a bit.**


	2. They Met

They Met

I stared out the window and watched as the fields of grass slowly turned into the sea and sand. I was practically bouncing in my seat. I was going to spend the summer at my favorite place in the world; my grandpa's house. There were so many fond memories of this place; building sand castles, splashing in the waves, and most importantly; learning to surf. When you are surfing, it's like you can forget about who you're supposed to be and just be you. I live for that feeling; a mix of adrenaline and freedom.

The car came to a stop just behind grandpa's house. I climbed out and grabbed my bags.

"Bye!" I called to the car as it pulled out. I watched for a minute as it disappeared into the horizon, before turning back to the house.

It was a small, but cozy place. It always smelled like the beach.

I lugged my suitcase out to the front and I heard two voices.

"The best song is Surf Crazy, no doubt about that." That was my grandpa's voice.

"Nope, Cruisin' for a Bruisin' is definitely the best." I didn't recognize the second voice.

I sighed looking down. There was no way I could carry all my stuff up the stairs without help.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Ahem!" I said clearing my throat loudly. "A little help out here?"

My grandpa came outside.

"Mac!" he exclaimed, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Grandpa." I said, smiling. As we pulled out of the hug, I noticed some other guy leaning in the doorway.

"Who's that?" I asked, tilting my head towards the guy.

"That's Brady." He said "Brady, this is my granddaughter, Mac."

"Nice to meet you." He said. He was tall, blonde and had a tan. It was pretty clear he was a surfer. I frowned. He didn't even lift a finger to help me. _Some gentleman_, I thought.

I tried to stay happy, though. My grandpa was excitedly talking about how much fun we were going to have, how much me missed me and how tonight we were going to do a bonfire to celebrate my arrival.

"Grandpa!" I groaned. "You're making me hungry!"

He laughed. He knew bonfires were my all-time favorite dinner.

We dragged my suitcase up the stairs. Grandpa left me to sort out my room. Once I was done unpacking, I went downstairs.

"So," I asked "Does that Brady kid live here?"

"Yeah," Grandpa said. "He spent all his time here so I let him use the guest room."

"How did you guys meet?" I asked, grabbing an apple.

"We went to a screening of West Side Story at the old theater. We were the only people there." I laughed.

"You can laugh, but it's still the greatest movie ever." He said, shaking a finger at me. "Be warned."

I laughed even harder. I could feel my eyes begin to water. Grandpa shook his head and began to leave the room.

"Hey," I called after him. "I'm going out to town to buy groceries for tonight, OK?"

"Sure," he called back. "Just be home before dark."

"Will do." I said, grabbing my wallet and heading outside. I went into the garage to grab my old bike. Just my luck, it was on a shelf too high for me to reach. I jumped, but I still couldn't get it. I was tempted to get Grandpa, when-

"Ah!" I shrieked as I was lifted into the air.

"Chill!" I heard a voice from behind me. I turned and saw Brady lifting me.

"Are you going to get the bike or what?" he asked, smirking. I blushed and grabbed the bike.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I hoped on it and sped off.

"Hey!" he called after me, but I was too far away to hear whatever he had to say.

When I got to the mall, I went into the grocery store. I grabbed hot-dogs, burgers, some fruit, stuff for s'mores and a couple other things. I was in line at the check-out when I heard a voice call my name. I ignored it the first time.

"Mac!" I was sure it was Brady. Sighing I turned.

"You dropped your wallet." He said.

"Oh." I said. "Well, thanks, I guess." I turned back towards the cashier.

"So…" he said. He was really getting on my nerves. I was thankful for him returning my wallet, but his attitude was horrible. I turned towards him. "Thanks, but you can go now."

"Mac…." He began.

"Look." I hissed. "Maybe you are used to girls falling all over you, but I'm not going to. So drop it or leave."

"Drop what?" he said, confused.

"The 'I'm-too-cool-for-the-world attitude." I snapped. I turned back towards the cashier.

"Mac…"

"Just LEAVE!" I said, practically shouting. He actually looked hurt. He turned on his heels and walked away. Everyone was staring at me but I didn't care. I paid for my groceries and left.

I sighed. This was going to be a _long_ summer.

**Author's Note: What do you think? Brady's a bit of a jerk in the beginning, I know. Like I said, hope it's not too OOC. Please review!**


	3. They Ate Together

They Ate Together

When I got back to the house the first thing I noticed was an eerie silence.

"Anybody home?" I called. I set the groceries down on the counter. It was then that I saw a note:

_Mack,_

_I had to go to town to do some stuff. I'll be back in about 2 hours._

_~Grandpa_

I decided to go to my room and try reading while I waited. I was three chapters in to my new book when I heard the downstairs door open and close. I glanced at my watch. _Grandpa shouldn't be back for another hour and a half_, I thought. I decided to go downstairs and see what was up.

The moment I entered the kitchen I felt something hit me, hard. The world was blurry for a second. When my eyes refocused, I saw none other than Brady standing in front of me.

"Ouch." I said dryly, glaring at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled and turned away. I hear him mutter, "No need to be so mean."

"What did you say?" I asked, raising my voice slightly. He turned back towards me.

"You're the one who practically threw a fit in a grocery store! I mean, why are you so quick to judge me? It's like you think I'm a horrible person just because I-" He stopped mid-rant and looked at my face.

"Oh my gosh!" he said, clearly concerned.

"Is it that bad?" I asked, wincing.

"Yeah." He said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "I'll get you some ice." He offered, and he went to the freezer.

I sighed and sat down. I had a feeling I was about to get a head-ache.

"Here" He said offering me the ice. As I pressed it to my face, I felt the cold shoot up my eye. I shivered. "I hope you don't get a black eye." He said, staring at the ground.

"That makes two of us" I said, sighing. He chuckled. I turned to him. "Sorry for yelling, it's just… I know some people who have attitudes like yours and…are really big jerks. And I guess I assumed…" I trailed off.

"And I'm sorry for walking into to you." He offered. I snorted.

"I'm such a klutz. Seriously, I have tripped on thin air before. I could probably walk right into the great wall of china." He laughed at that and we just sat there laughing for a little while.

"Oh, jeez." I said, suddenly thinking of something. "How are we going to explain this to grandpa?"

"Explain what to grandpa?" I looked up and saw my grandpa standing right there.

"Um…" I began, "How…I…"

"Walked into a wall." Brady hurriedly finished for me. "Mack here is such a klutz."

"Hey!" I said, shoving him. He just laughed and shoved me back.

"OK you two, are you ready to start cooking?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be outside in just a second."

Grandpa grabbed the groceries off of the counter and took them outside. I put the ice pack back in the freezer.

"So, Mack," Brady asked "Are we cool?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile, "We're cool."

...

We sat around the fire, cooking hot-dogs on sticks. I laughed as Brady's caught on fire.

"Seriously?" he said. "I didn't even know that was possible." I laughed.

"Guess you've never roasted hotdogs before, huh?" I said, smiling. He threw the charred hotdog remains into the fire.

"Nope." He said, his sentence punctuated by a stomach growl.

"Fine" I sighed, rolling my eyes, "I'll cook one for you." His face lit up like a little kid on Christmas. I laughed.

"So Mack," Grandpa began, "Are you going surfing tomorrow?"

"Great idea, Grandpa." I said, handing the hotdog to Brady.

"You surf?" He asked between bites.

"Yeah." I replied. "Why? Do you?"

"Nah," he said sarcastically. "Surfing is just MY LIFE!"

"Woah," I chuckled, "I bet there are people on the moon that heard you."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Surfing is the best. It helps you... meet new people if you know what I mean". He winked at me and I was quickly overcome by the same sense of disgust I did earlier. It seemed all the boys I knew cared only about girls and video games.

I glared at him. "Oh, that's what it's all about, really? The beach, sunsets and surfing? Who cares about the beauty of it all, the peace of nature? It's ALL about the girls." I finished sarcastically, steam practically coming out of my ears.

Before I could say anything else, grandpa said "Hey Mack, I left my water inside. Could you grab it for me?"

"Fine." I huffed and stomped off. As I walked away from the fire, I hear my grandpa whisper to Brady.

"Don't worry; she just needs time to cool off. She's a little…sensitive."

That just made me madder. I slammed the door behind me and stalked upstairs to my room, forgetting about the water bottle. The whole world blurry, I opened a door and walked into what I thought was my room. I was surprised to look up and realize I was in the old guest room, AKA Brady's room.

The guest bed looked the same as it always had, but room looked like it had had an extreme makeover. There were piles of books everywhere; mostly fictions but there were a couple of sports magazines scattered here and there. Posters covered almost every available space on the wall. I noticed that they were mostly about surfing, but some were large pictures of him with a girl I assumed to be his sister. I sighed and felt my anger drain. The girl was not only cute; she made it look like Brady was the best big brother in the world.

I turned to leave the room; I decided I couldn't face Brady after I yelled at him like that. I went into my room and curled up on the bed.

_'Why am I being so mean?' _I thought. _'One minute, I'm nice, the next, I'm horrible. I just can't help it; sometimes he reminds me of-'_ I shuddered, not wanting to even think _his_ name. I shouldn't be so judgmental, I had no clue Brady was even the tiniest bit like him. I sighed and just lay there until I fell asleep.

**Author's Note: Hope you don't hate me right now. I know Mac is being a bit bipolar, don't worry, she'll get over it. I'll try to post new chapters as soon as I can, but with school starting, things are going to get crazy.**


	4. They Surfed Together

They Surfed Together

The next morning I woke up to another eerie silence. I tiptoed downstairs to see if anybody was up yet.

Just as I had suspected, no one had gotten up yet. It was probably a good thing too. I really don't think I could face anybody right now. I sighed and sat at the counter. All I had wanted was a relaxing vacation. But now I couldn't stop thinking about him; Chris. Just his name made me shudder. But I couldn't help it if Brady looked and acted like him sometimes. It just made all the feelings I kept bottled up resurface. I yelled at him like I wish I had yelled at Chris back when I had the chance. But Chris had moved on, left to terrorize another town. Still, his memory had haunted me. Like it had healed me when my mom died, I hoped surfing could heal me now too. But it seemed like fate had other plans.

Just then I made a decision. I scribbled out a quick note to my grandpa, changed and grabbed my board and a banana. I was going surfing.

I was just about to head out when I heard a voice call my name.

"Mack." I ignored it. The second time the voice sounded much closer.

"I know you can hear me." I knew by now that it was Brady. I kept ignoring it. The third time, I could tell he was very annoyed.

"Just listen to me for five seconds!" I felt him grab my wrist and turn me, forcing me to look at him.

"We need to talk". The words were all too familiar, yet they usually came out of _my_ mouth. His expression was dead-serious. I realized with a sudden panic that I couldn't handle talking to him right now.

"Leave me alone." I muttered trying to wretch myself free. No such luck.

"Look." He said, staring me straight in the eyes. "I know I said a couple things I shouldn't have. And I know I kind of deserved what you did last night. But how am I supposed to apologize when you keep avoiding me?" I doubled my efforts to pull myself free.

"Talk to me, darn it!" he said, practically yelling. "Why is it one-minute we're friends, the next we're enemies? Why do you hate me so much?" he said, shouting the last part. By now tearing were streaming down my face.

"It's not you." I whispered, looking down at my feet. His face instantly softened.

"Then what is it?" he said gently, taking a step towards me.

"Chris," I said in a chocked whisper.

"Who's Chris?" he asked softly. I took a shaky breath. I had never told anybody the full story about Chris. And I don't know why, but in that moment I trusted Brady enough to tell him.

"He was the really cool, popular guy who had just moved to town. All the girls in school had a crush on him. Except of course, me. So naturally he fell 'madly in love'. He convinced me he loved me and I loved him back. We had fights, but he always charmed his way out of them. I gave my heart to him. And he used it as a trophy. He could get even the girl with no interest in him. He always made comments about how girls are just 'prizes to be won'. He used me. Then he moved away. I was left with a broken heart. He was like you; nonchalant and cool. And whenever you make jokes or act like he did, I just… take out all my pent up frustration on you. I'm sorry" I whispered the last part.

It felt good to finally get all that off my chest, even if Brady didn't care. I don't know why, but I felt as though I almost… wished he cared, or something like that. Even though I thought he probably wouldn't.

But to my surprise, he pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," I said after he let go, quickly composing myself.

"That's crazy. I can't believe anyone could be that mean." He said, and I could tell he meant it.

"Look," I said, "just promise me one thing. You can't tell anybody about this, OK?" He looked at me strangely.

"Fine." He said after a couple minutes. I let myself relax. I felt like I could trust Brady not to tell anyone or bring this up ever again. I sighed and sat down, rubbing my eyes.

"You know," he began, "You need to be cheered up." I looked up at him. He couldn't be serious, could he?

Almost like he had read my thoughts, he added "So for the rest of the day, it will be my personal mission to cheer you up!" It was then that I realized he was serious.

"Brady…" I began.

"No ifs, ands or buts. Come on!" he said cheerily, practically dragging me to my feet. "First up, surfing!" he announced. "I'll go get some stuff. Meet you at the beach." I sighed realizing there was no stopping him. He stood there patiently, waiting for me to grab my board.

"OK, fine, fine. I'm going." I said, grabbing my board and heading outside. I heard him practically bounce up the stair.

_'He sure seems happy.'_ I thought. It was only a short walk to the beach. As soon as I got there, I sat next to a tree and watched the waves. The sight was already making me feel better.

Just then I heard a voice call out "Mack!" I turned and saw Brady running towards me, holding a surf board.

"What are you waiting for?" he said, grabbing my wrist and tugging me towards the waves. "Let's go!"

...

I laughed and shook out my wet hair. Surfing had been a blast and I had even managed to forget about Chris. Brady ran up to me.

"What next?" I asked. He was about to answer but was interrupted by my stomach grumbling.

"Lunch it is, then." He said, laughing. I shoved him playfully. He ran away, shouting. I laughed and chased him. Eventually, we both ended up on the sand, laughing. He grinned at me and I grinned back.

"Come on." He said. He stood up and held out his hand to me. I pushed myself up. He looked at me, still holding his hand out. I felt as though I had just made things between us awkward again.

"Follow me." He said finally, walked off. I hurried to catch up with him. The teasing tone was gone and replaced by a more thoughtful one.

"Let's go get lunch. I know just the place."

**Ooh, cliffhanger! :P Sorry for not updating lately: school has been crazy and I'm going to camp tomorrow. I will try to have a chapter ready when I get back. And remember, reviewing is a two-way street. The more reviews I get, the more motivated I am, the more motivated I am, the sooner (and better) chapters for you guys! ;)**


	5. They Saw a Movie Together

They Saw a Movie Together

"So," I asked, "Are we going to… the arcade?"

"Nope!" he said laughing. After we finished lunch, Brady told me he was taking me somewhere special and refused to tell me where. So we had been playing 20 questions. I had narrowed it down to just a few places.

"So then it must be…the theater!" I practically shouted, causing some people to turn their heads and stare at us. He laughed.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" he said, imitating a game show host. I laughed and we fell into a comfortable silence.

"So… what movie?" I asked. He just grinned.

"I'll surprise you." I groaned.

"What's with all the surprises?"

"Will you just go with it? For five seconds?" he said, exasperated. Sighing, I nodded. I counted to five in my head.

"It's been five seconds." Now it was _his _turn to groan. I laughed and he rolled his eyes.

"I thought you were supposed to be the mature one."

"I am." I retorted, poking him.

It was just then we arrived at the theater.

"Come on." He said dragging me in. I smiled, but then that a sudden thought hit me. _'Aren't the movies something people did on dates?_' I nearly stopped dead in my tracks. But I caught myself, and thankfully I don't think he noticed. I decided to just try and act natural, for his sake, although I was freaking out on the inside.

"Ta-da!" he said, pointing to the sign over the ticket booth. I groaned as I read it: West Side Story. My grandpa's all-time favorite movie, the one he could never stop talking about. Brady pouted at my whining and I started to laugh. But I realized what I was doing and abruptly stopped._ 'Don't get too close to him!'_ I thought. He looked at me strangely for a second, before turning to buy us tickets. I knew he could tell something was up, but I hoped that just for now, he'd let it lie.

...

I watched as the characters ran across the screen. It had been only 10 minutes, yet I was already bored. When I was little, my grandpa would play this movie nearly every single day, so of course I know all the lines. I looked around for things to do. Talk to Brady? No, too risky. It could get too awkward. Besides, he was absorbed in the movie. Listen to music on my mp3 player? No, the movie's soundtrack was too loud. Eat popcorn? Nope, I already polished the bag. So I settled on people watching.

My eyes scanned the theater. There was an elderly couple up near the front. They laughed at the characters like it was their first time watching the movie, which, in fact, it probably was. They were decked out in tourist gear all announcing they had visited Orlando. My eyes moved a couple rows back to where there was a Japanese couple. The boy had his arm around the girl and while she was clearly enthralled by the movie, he was just staring at her, memorizing her features. I felt myself smile. It was pretty clear how much he loved her. Next my eyes fell onto a girl sitting hunched over. It was clear she was a college student, and her wild bright red curls were pulled back into a loose ponytail. She was leaning over what appeared to be a sketchbook.

_'Impressive'_, I thought. _'She's trying to draw the moving movie characters.'_ Or maybe even the theater patrons, who had no idea they were being drawn.

Finally I looked at the last group of people in the theater. It was a family of five. The dad looked like he was asleep and the poor mom was trying to hush a crying baby. In between them sat two girls. The first was tossing popcorn into her mouth. She had obviously seen this movie a thousand times, like me, and was bored. But the second girl was practically bouncing on the edge of her seat, her blonde ponytail bouncing up and down. Her excitement almost reminded me of the look on Brady's face as he dragged me into the theater.

I turned to glance at him. It was funny, almost cute, how into it he was. He started forward, his bright blue eyes focused. _'His eyes are like the ocean,' _I thought _'Bright and blue and full of emotion.' _They would tell you if he was confused, hurt, angry or, best of all, happy. His smile was contagious. It lit up his entire face, framed by his long blonde hair. I smiled as I thought of how just a couple days ago he ran into to me. When he realized what he had done, he looked so embarrassed. His back was hunched, his cheeks pink and his blue eyes glancing up sheepishly from beneath his bangs. He looked really cute that day. But that was no surprise, he always looked-

I felt my stomach lurch, realizing what I was thinking. On the movie screen, the characters cheered as they finished a big dance number. I inched away from Brady as I willed my stomach to calm down.

Once the characters started talking again, I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Nobody had noticed my little panic attack.

I shut my eyes and tried to push out the thought. But try as I might, it echoed in my head. _'You like Brady. You like Brady. You like Brady'_

_'No'_ I thought, _'I won't let myself. I can't fall in love. All people ever do in love is hurt you.' _I turned to Brady. The sweet, sentimental side of me thought _'But how do you know he's going to hurt you? He would never do something like that.'_

_'We are friends'. _I reminded myself. _'And it will stay that way'._

I glanced towards Brady again. _'I will never fall in love with him.'_

...

"Great movie, huh?" Brady asked as we left the theater. I rolled my eyes.

"It's creepy sometimes, how alike you and grandpa are." I said teasingly.

"We both have great taste." Brady said, sticking his nose up at me. I flicked his forehead.

"Ow!" he said. I stuck my tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out back. I laughed.

As we walked down the boardwalk, he turned to face me. "Alright, Mack, are you ready for the last part of your cheering-up-day?"

"Alright." I said, not very enthusiastically. I had been enjoying myself and it looked like me and Brady would become firm friends. To be honest, I was hoping today would never end.

"I want to show you something really amazing, but you have to hurry if you want to see it. OK?"

"Alright, fine." I said. He started walking and I fell into step beside him. "So, where are we-"

"No, you're not getting it out of me this time. No ifs, ands or buts!" He added for emphasis.

"Fine." I said laughing. It was then I noticed he was leading us back towards the house.

"Why are we going to-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" he said. "It's. A. Surprise." I sighed, he really was serious.

"Wait here," he told me, and he headed around the house. I started thinking he was just looking for an excuse to get rid of me when:

"Ta-da!" he said, for the second time today. He was holding a bike, but not just any ordinary one. It was a bicycle built for two.

"Cool!" I said, examining the bike. I had always loved bikes, and this one was no exception.

"Hop on." He said, climbing into the front. As I climbed on, I noticed something.

"Brady?"

"Yes?"

"What am I supposed to hold on to?"

"My back." He said like it was the world's most obvious answer. I slowly wrapped my arms around him, and we took off.

I was too busy between holding on for dear life and suppressing the butterflies in my stomach to notice where we were going. All I knew was we were headed up-hill. And that's when he stopped the bike.

"Ta-da" he said softly.

**Author's Note: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack! And to reward you guys, here is another chapter. Tons of love to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed! If it weren't for you this chapter wouldn't have gotten done as soon as it had. Also, in case I hadn't mentioned it, this whole thing is unbeta'd. So if you see any errors, mention it to me. I want to make this story as good as possible for you guys, and with just me over here, sometimes I overlook stuff. Anyways, with all that out of the way, I want to know: what do you guys think the surprise for Mack is? A pile of gold? A leprechaun? A giant piece of chocolate? That's all for now. Ciao! (And sorry for the extra long author's note. :P)**


	6. They (Really) Talked

They (Really) Talked

I gasped and looked forward; it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We were up in the forest on the mountain that bordered the beach. There was a clearing and we had a breath-taking view of the sun setting behind the ocean.

The ocean was even more navy blue than usual against the sun. The sun was bright yellow and orange, like a ball of bright light. The sky surrounding it was pink, and where the pink faded was a beautiful periwinkle. The few clouds up in the sky had become violet. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever scene.

"It takes my breath away every time." Brady said softly after a moment. As I watched he leaned against a tree trunk. I sat and joined him.

"It's…it's… indescribable." I finished. He smiled softly.

"I know. When I was little and my parents threw parties, I would run away and go ride in the forest. I still remember the day I discovered this little grove. Ever since then I came here."

"You ran away when your parents threw parties?" I asked, curious. "You seem like the life of the party, not the type of guy who sneaks out." He chuckled scornfully as he looked into the ocean.

"They only threw parties to impress business contracts. That's the only reason they bought the house. When they aren't in New York, they have three small houses all across the States. They go there. It looks like a quaint, beautiful house with a quaint, beautiful family. Just the type of people a lot of contracts want. Someone who listens to them and isn't just some big business contractor. Well, half of them. The other half would _rather _have the big business contract. That's why they spend most of their time in New York."

"Wait," I said, confused. "If they have three houses and a place in New York, where do you live?" He smiled sadly.

"I traveled the world as soon as I finished kindergarten. I had a tutor and baby-sitter who traveled with us. Once my parents settled down, they lived in a flat in New York. Problem is the contracts down there don't want to hire someone with a kid to look after. So they sent me to live at a boarding school." He shook his head sadly. "I hated it there. So after three years, they let me leave. I had a choice; live with my aunt and uncle, down near the beach house, or travel with them. I chose my aunt and uncle. Sometimes my parents came to town to get deals at the beach house. They wanted me to play the happy kid, to help them get deals. But after all they had done to me, I refused. But you can't say no to them." He turned his head towards me. "I started sneaking out. Eventually they gave up. They haven't been back in years."

"Wow." I said.

"Yeah," he nodded, "but my aunt and uncle were always out during the summer, which let me explore the town. Then I met your grandpa and, well, the rest, as they say…"

"…is history." I finished, smiling.

"Yeah." He said. He smiled for a moment, but then his demeanor turned serious. "So, you didn't really tell me earlier. What happened between you and that guy, Chris?"

I sighed. I never talked about my feelings with other people. Still, for some strange reason, I felt like I could open up to Brady.

"It started a long time ago." I said, looking out towards the ocean. "My school was full of gossiping girls. I always preferred being alone, reading and surfing. I was never a girly girl." I half expected him to make a snide comment, but to my surprise he stayed quiet and nodded. I took this as a sign to continue.

"Then this guy showed up. Instantly, all the girls feel head-over-heels. He was a bad boy, exotic, brilliant, you name it. Chris. Even I heard about him, and I had never even seen him. He wasn't in my class and like I said, I don't really talk to people. I was surprised he even heard of me. At first I thought maybe he liked me. Still, I didn't really care. People had liked me in the past. I never paid them any attention, and they went away. And I thought he would be just like all the others at first.

But I was wrong. It started at a party. I don't know why I went, maybe I was curious. I went and Chris was there. He saw me and we started chatting. I drank a lot of soda and got into this huge sugar rush. I barely remembered anything.

After that day, he paid a lot of attention to me. I should have known something was up, but I guess I assumed he was being friendly. And all the sudden, he was perfect. Smart, humble, gentlemanly, down-to-earth, everything I wanted in a guy. And so, when he asked me out, I accepted. And soon we started dating.

At first, it was amazing. We loved, we kissed, and we faced the world. For once, I truly, really, fell in love. I remember that feeling of freedom so well. But there was something else there, too. He started showing me off to his friends, talking about me like I was a trophy. The normal me would have seen through his facade. But I was in love."

My voice dropped to barley a whisper.

"All he wanted was bragging rights. He wanted the girl who was hardest to get. When I realized it, I told him. But even then I didn't end it. I didn't have the courage. Still, things were different. He still showed me off, but he didn't pretend to love me when we weren't with his friends. In public it felt unnatural. I no longer thought he loved me. I was stiff towards him, cold even. Finally, he ended it. He told me I was right. He was just using me."

It was then I felt an arm around my shoulder. I turned to find Brady hugging me. He rubbed my back and I let a tear fall. I felt like here, with Brady, it was alright to finally let out some of the sadness I had held in for what felt like forever.

"Nobody deserves that." He whispered, his voice giving me goose-bumps. "Especially not someone as amazing as you."

I felt chills travel down my spine despite the warmth of Brady's embrace. _'You can't get too close to him.'_ I thought, but the voice was a mere echo in my head. I was floating, and at that moment, I didn't care.

**Author's Note: Ta-da! This chapter took me a while, so I hope it's been worth the wait. I had writers block ON TOP of crazy homework so, ya. Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, virtual hugs all around! Sending a review takes 1 minute, and it will make me happy for 1440 minutes (1 day). (And yes, I actually calculated that). So please keep the reviews coming!**


	7. They Hung Out With Some Friends

They Hung Out With Some Friends

"Good morning grandpa." I said as I entered the kitchen. My grandpa looked up from his newspaper. He was already in bed by the time I got home last night.

"Where were you yesterday?" he asked. "I didn't see you all day."

"Brady and I were just hanging out." I said nonchalantly.

"Oh. I see." He said, winking. I elbowed him as I walked by to grab some cereal.

"We are NOT going out grandpa!"

"OK, I believe you" he said, turning back to his newspaper, but the smirk on his face told me otherwise. I elbowed him harder. Then I heard someone clear their throat.

I turned and saw Brady standing in the doorway. Oops. I turned bright red and turned towards my grandpa, who was clearly amused.

"So…" Brady began, clearly feeling as awkward as I was. "I promised some friends to meet me at the beach so we could go surfing. And I was kind of wondering if…you might want to join us?" He looked at me hopefully.

"I'd love to." My grandpa snorted and I elbowed him so hard I wouldn't be surprised if I broke his arm. I grabbed a banana, abandoning my cereal and practically raced up the stairs to get changed. Once I was changed, I headed downstairs. That's when I hear my grandpa.

"So are you and Mack…"

"Leaving!" I shouted, interrupting my grandpa. Brady jumped up in surprise. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him out the door before grandpa could further embarrass me.

We walked to beach in awkward silence.

"So, um, Mack..." Brady began, clearing trying to start a conversation. "Do you have, um, a boyfriend?"

I nearly snorted at the look on Brady's face once he registered what he had said. I could practically see him mentally slapping himself.

"Well…" I began, but before I could finish I heard someone shout Brady's name.

A girl with light blonde curls bounced towards us.

"Hey Giggles!" Brady said, clearly relieved for the distraction.

"Giggles?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She said. "My real name's Mollee, but everyone's called me Giggles since…" she started giggling just thinking about it.

"See?" Brady said with a smirk. That just made her giggle harder. I laughed.

"So…" I said nonchalantly as we walked slowly down the beach, "…how long have you guys known each other?"

"Ever since he moved here." Giggles said with a smile. "We met at the beach. Same place we met Tanner and his cousin, Lela."

"Those are the other friends we're going to meet." Brady explained. "They live further down the beach."

"Wait a second." I said, halting in my tracks. "Aren't those all names from Wet Side Story?"

Brady laughed. "I told you she would notice!" Giggles sighed.

"Wait, notice what?" I asked, confused.

"Almost everyone in our group of friends has a nickname from the movie. Giggles, because of, well…" he cracked up just thinking about it. "I'm sure you'll hear the story. Lela and Tanner's real names are Grace and Garrett, but we call them that because Grace loves to mountain bike and Garrett loves the beach."

"What's your nickname?" I asked, smiling.

"I said _almost _everyone." He responded, smirking. "I only started hanging out with them about a year ago and they haven't found me a nickname yet."

Our conversation was interrupted when a tall, brunette girl ran up to us. "Hey Giggles, Brady, and…you must be Mack! I'm Grace, but you can call me Lela." She held out her hand for a shake.

I took it somewhat awkwardly. "How do you know my name?" I asked, confused.

"Brady called me this morning. He told me _all_ about you." She responded, winking at Brady, who began blushing furiously. I was instantly confused. Brady called her in the morning? I must have been asleep. Was he trying to keep me from finding out?

Before I could say anything though, a tall sandy blonde guy (who I assumed to be Tanner) ran up to us.

"Are we going to surf or what?" he shouted, grinning.

...

I sat, leaning against the tall tree. We had been surfing for a while, but eventually Tanner complained of hunger and we stopped for lunch. Brady and Lela went into town to grab us some lunch, and Tanner had to go to the washroom. I sat, happy to watch the waves in peace for a moment.

_Why did Brady call her? _Was my first thought. _What are they, dating? _

_No that's ridiculous. He would have told you if they were dating. _

_It's never come up. Besides what are you, jealous?_

_Me? Jealous? As if!_

_You're in denial. _

_Shut up!_

_Why are you so defensive if you don't like him, then, huh?_

_…I…_

My train of thought was interrupted (thankfully) by a voice from behind me. "So, Mack, what do you think?" I turned my head to see Giggles standing, casually leaning against a large rock.

"Of what?" I asked, still thinking about the conversation I had just had with myself.

"Brady, of course." She said, like she was stating the obvious. I blushed.

"He's…uh…he's… OK, I guess." I was blushing even harder. _Curse my stupid genes!_

Her eyes widened. "You like him, don't you?"

"Uh…no…" I stammered, finally coming up with "No, no, of course not."

She smirked. "Mack, you know, denial isn't just a river in Egypt." I colored even more.

"Hey Mack!" I heard a voice call. I turned and saw Brady and Lela, returning from the town with their arms filled with bags.

"Saved by the bell" I murmured. Giggles turned to me and I could tell she had heard what I just said. I blushed even more.

"Don't worry." She said, with a theatrical wink. "You're secret's safe with me." She turned to help them with the bags.

"Hey." I heard Tanner say, and I jumped. I turned around and saw him come out from the bushes behind me.

"What took you so long?" Lela asked, plopping down on the ground to begin eating.

"I took a little detour." He said, his face expressionless. He went to sit next to his sister, and he glanced at me.

And I couldn't help but feel like he had heard the whole conversation.

**Author's Note: I'm SO sorry for not updating in weeks! You guys probably hate me by now. There's been a lot of stuff going on, plus I had some nasty writer's block. :(**

**I took the names of the actors for Giggles, Tanner and Lela's real names, because I thought it would be weird for all of Brady's friends to be named after his favorite movie. :P I put them in there because I needed some friends for Brady and I don't like sticking a lot of OCs in a story.**

**The story is beginning to come to a climax (!) and there will be a huge cliffhanger up ahead. So stay tuned!**


	8. She Realized It

She Realized It

"…and that's when the baking soda volcano exploded." Brady said. We all burst into laughter. I had finally managed to convince them to tell me the story of how Giggles got her nickname. Brady grinned as we walked down the boardwalk. After we finished lunch we had decided to head down to the arcade. Although, at this rate we would never get there.

"Then what?" I asked, finally calming down enough to speak.

"She just started…giggling!" Brady said.

"She didn't stop, for like, 5 minutes." Lela interrupted. "We thought we might have to take her to the hospital."

"And ever since then, she has been called Giggles." Brady finished, bowing dramatically. I laughed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tanner glaring at me. He wouldn't stop treating me like I was a criminal ever since lunch. '_And your conversation with Giggles' _I reminded myself. I felt myself shudder. Ignoring Tanner, I jogged a little to catch up with Brady and Lela.

Lela was telling a story, and Brady was laughing loudly. With every word, Lela came closer and closer to leaning on Brady. _'Watch out, jealous'_ a voice in my head said. I frowned, I was NOT jealous, for the last time!

Just then, Lela turned towards Brady and started jumping up and down.

"Guess what, guess what, guess what!" she shouted, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"What?' I asked. She looked at me for a second, surprised, as though she had forgotten I was there. But after a beat, she regained her composure and turned back towards Brady.

"I'm hosting the bonfire this year!" she yelled, jumping up and down.

"Oh my gosh, Lela!" Brady said, suddenly as enthusiastic as Lela. "That's awesome!"

"I know right!" she squealed.

"Um… excuse me, but what what's 'The Bonfire'?" I asked. She looked at me oddly for a second, and then turned to Brady.

"You haven't told her yet?"

"Oops." He said. "It must have slipped my mind."

"Are you going to invite her?" she asked, giving him a meaningful look.

By now I was feed up with all this. "WHAT IS 'THE BONFIRE' FOR CRYING OUT LOUND?" They looked at me and blinked, as if surprised by my outburst. Then they both blushed, as if embarrassed.

"It's this huge party," Giggles interrupted. "that the kids from our school throw every year. There's a big draw, and whoever wins gets to host it. It's basically a giant bonfire on the beach to kick off summer. Everyone hangs out and has a great time. It's really fun. You should come!"

I glanced around at the group. Giggles looked excited and clearly wanted me to come to the party. Tanner looked like he was sucking on a lemon. Brady and Lela had the exact same expression, and it looked like embarrassment. I sighed. I had a feeling only Giggles really wanted me at this party, but how could I say no to her expectant smile.

"I'll check with my grandpa." I conceded. Tanner frowned at Giggles.

"If you're busy, you don't have to come. Really." He said darkly. I felt a chill go up my spine. Tanner had seemed so warm and friendly and now he was all threatening and creepy. The way he said it made me feel like it was an instruction, not an invitation. And I have no clue why the next thing out of my mouth was what it was:

"I'll check." Tanner's frown deepened.

"Good." He said, but I could tell he didn't mean it. A quick glance at the others and it was clear they were oblivious to what our little exchange really meant.

"I hope to see you there."

_You'd better expect a fight if you try to show up._

"Me too."

_Oh believe me, I will._

...

"Take that!" Lela shouted at Brady. He groaned. I laughed. Lela was normally really sweet, but when she was playing video games, she was super competitive. Not to mention, really good.

"Ah-ha!" she shouted, and Tanner booed. I glanced at him. He was acting really friendly towards the others, but whenever they weren't looking, he would glare daggers at me. I just didn't get why he was so mean to me.

"I win!" sang Lela, doing what I had come to learn was her happy dance. Brady laughed.

"Come on, let's let Tanner and Mack play. We've been hogging it." Brady said, leading Lela towards the snack booth.

"We'll go get some snacks." He said over his shoulder. I watched them turn the corner and disappear from view. I turned towards Tanner. He stared at me, his eyes cold. I shuddered. We stood there in silence for a moment.

"Listen closely" he whispered darkly, leaning in. "Lela and Brady are too nice to tell you this, but they're dating. As in, a couple. And I don't appreciate you trying to break up my sister and my best friend, alright? So stay away if you know what's good for them. If you know what's good for you." He stood and gestured towards the game. "Shall we?" he said, in his normal voice.

We started playing but his words echoed in my head, louder and loader until I couldn't hear anything else.

_'…they're dating. As in, a couple. They're dating. As in, a couple. They're dating.'_

I don't know why, but I felt crushed by this. I thought about Brady and Lela, and how they acted around each other.

_'Of course. That explains everything. Tanner must think I'm trying to break them up. But that's silly. I don't even have a crush on Brady, never mind want to try to break him up. We're just friends. Aren't we?'_

But then I thought about the day in the forest. I thought about the butterflies. The conversation with Giggles. The feeling when Lela almost leaned against Brady. And I realized the truth.

Giggles was right. I liked Brady.

I sighed to myself. He was dating Lela. So it shouldn't be hard to stay away. But some part of me knew that when it came to my love life, nothing was ever that simple.

"I win." Tanner said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Come on, let's go find the others."

As I followed him through the busy arcade, all I could think was that he was right. I shouldn't go to the bonfire. All I could do was cause trouble.

...

"Well that was certainly fun." I said to Brady as we walked back to my grandpa's house. After we ate some snacks and played a few more games, Lela said she had to go home to prepare for the bonfire tomorrow. So we said our good byes. Brady and I decided to head home as well.

"Yeah." He said, but he seemed distracted. We both were. I sighed. I didn't know what I would tell Brady if he asked why I wasn't going to the bonfire. I could only guess what he was thinking about.

"Mack," he began, somewhat awkwardly. "Do you want to go to the bonfire?"

"What?" I asked, panicking. What was I going to say now?

"Well," he said, looking at the ground. "You said you'd have to ask your grandpa. But we both know you don't have anything to do."

"Well, he might not want me to go…"

"Mack," he interrupted. "We both know that's not true. Do you not want to go? Because if you don't want to…"

I looked at him. My head knew I should say no while I had the chance, but at that moment my heart took over, and the look on his face was making it break. He looked like a little kid, not wanting to get his hopes up, but still hopeful.

"I'll be there." I heard myself saying.

"Cool." He said, clearly not wanting to show too much excitement.

I smiled lightly, but inside I was only thinking one thing.

What have you gotten yourself into this time?

**Author's Note: Sorry about me being awful about updating this past little while. As usual, craziness! Up here in Canada, it's Thanksgiving (!) so I had some time to finish this. It was written late at night, so I apologize for any errors, please point them out to me.**

**And a HUGE thank-you to Echo XX Master who pointed out I had been calling the movie West Side Story, not Wet Side Story. I should have realized that a movie for kids would never reference a play with gangs and guns in it. :P**

**So all that being said, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next one should (hopefully) be posted sooner rather than later. Ciao!**


	9. Things Were Really Awkward Between Them

It Was _Really_ Awkward Between Them

I examined at myself in the mirror. I had spent the last half hour trying to look nice, but like I hadn't been trying to dress up. I sighed. So was the life of a teenage girl.

Honestly, I was glad for the distraction. Every time I stopped and thought about why I was getting dressed up, the butterflies came back. Part of me still couldn't believe I was actually going through with this. But I knew by now I had no choice. I sighed again. I'd been doing that a lot lately.

Finally, I was satisfied with my appearance. '_Great, now all you need another excuse for the next hour and a half._

Just then, my cell phone rang. I picked it up from where it was lying on the bed and checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number, so it wasn't any of my family or friends back home. Or my grandpa. So it had to be someone I met while here. _It could be Lela. Or Brady._ I frowned, ever since we walked home that day things between us were awkward and I couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was a good thing I was pushing him away.

Just then my phone rang again, interrupting that particular train of thought. _To answer, or not to answer?_

Well, maybe Brady was calling to see if anyone was home. No, that's stupid; he'd call the home phone, not my cell.

_What if it's Tanner? _I felt a chill go down my spine. Ever since our confrontation, he had been ignoring me. Sometimes he reminded me of the boys back home. _The ones that hurt me. _

The phone rang once more and reflexively I answered it. On the inside, I cursed my bad luck, but on the outside all I could say was:

"Hello?"

"Oh, hi Lela."

"No, don't worry, I wasn't doing anything important."

"Oh, you need hot dogs for the bonfire?"

"I see…"

"Brady's out right now, but I could pick them up for you."

"No, no trouble at all."

"How many do you need?"

"Wow. That's a lot of hot dogs."

"As I said before, it's no trouble at all."

"Don't worry; you can pay me back later."

"Alright. I'll meet you at…"

"Oh, of course. At your house."

"Alright, see you there, in, say, five minutes?"

"OK. Bye."

I hung up, and pulled on my sneakers. Hopefully I could convince Lela to let me help her set up, and then I wouldn't have to think about Brady and Tanner and the bonfire, until, well, the bonfire.

I grabbed some money and left a note for my grandpa.

_Left to help Lela set up the bonfire. I'll probably be home late._

_Love you!_

_Mack_

I hopped on my bike and pedaled towards the grocery store, thinking about boys, hot-dogs, threats and cell phones.

…

It was only as I left the grocery store that I realized the obvious flaw in my plan: I had no clue where Lela lived.

I sat on my bike, pondering this. On one hand, I could say I got lost and skip the whole party. But on the other, I was a terrible liar. Plus Lela would never get her hotdogs.

I sighed, realizing my only choice was to call Lela and ask for her address. I reached into my pocket to grab my phone. I pulled it out and pressed the power button. Nothing. I tried again. _Dang it, it's dead. So now what? Wander around town until I found someone I knew? Ask a stranger to borrow their phone?_

Before I could decide what to do, I heard a voice call my name. I looked up and saw Giggles waving at me.

"Hey Mack. What's wrong? Are you lost or something?"

"Um, yeah, kind of." I admitted. She grinned.

"Lela called me in a panic that you had gone to the grocery store before she could give you her address, and you weren't picking up."

"My phone was dead." I said lamely.

"She asked me to come and get you. The poor girl was just about having a heart attack. Looks like I got here just in the nick of time, eh?" She grinned again and I found myself smiling back. Just like her laughter, her smile was contagious.

"Come on, let's go before Lela sends someone else out after us."

…

Lela _did _look like she was about to have a heart attack by the time we finally got there.

"There you are! I was so worried about you! Poor Brady over there was ready to call the cops and report you missing." You could hear the relief in Lela's voice. Then I felt my heart skip a beat: Brady was here?

"Brady's here?" Giggles asked. At that moment it seemed like she could hear my thoughts.

"Yeah, Tanner had to do some stuff so I invited Brady over. I called Mack's cell, hoping to catch him before he left. He wasn't there, so I asked her to go instead. I completely forgot she didn't know where I lived." She turned towards me "Sometimes it feels like you've always lived here."

"Yeah," I said, sighing. "I wish I had always lived here. So much nicer than where I do live."

Giggles nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, before we moved here I always felt like that when we visited. But, at the end of the day, it wasn't home. Not until we moved, anyways."

"You haven't been here all your life?" I asked. It seemed like Brady, Tanner, Lela and Giggles had been friends forever.

"Only since I was in grade 3. Before that it was only a vacation place. Kind of like what it is to you now. Hey, maybe someday you'll live here too."

"Yeah." I said. "My parents will move the day pigs fly." She chuckled at that.

"You'd be surprised. This town has a knack for bringing people together and never letting them go."

"Hey, are you girls going to do any actual work?" Brady's voice called. I nearly jumped. I had forgotten he was even there.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Brady's right." Lela said wistfully. "Come on, we'd better get to work."

…

"Hey, Mack?" Brady called. While Lela and Giggles set up the inside for before dinner, Brady and I were setting up the outside, where the actual fire would be.

"Coming!" I called back. At first I had been confused: wouldn't Lela want to spend time with Brady if she had a crush on him? But I decided now to ask questions. Lela's backyard was so huge there had been no time for talking thus far. The awkwardness in the air was so thick you could cut it with a spoon, so I was glad for the distraction of decorating.

"Um," Brady began, somewhat awkwardly, "Can you help me hang this banner?" He was holding one end of a banner, standing on a ladder.

"Oh, sure." I said, suddenly feeling butterflies in my stomach. I walked over to the base of the ladder. "What do you need?"

"Just hold this end here while I tape it." He called down. I nodded and climbed up the ladder. When I reached the top, I held out my hand to take the banner from him.

As he handed it to me, I felt our fingers brush lightly. It was only a fraction of a second, but I felt something, a spark, a jolt. It spread to my stomach and soon the butterflies were set free, filling my arms, legs and head with a tingling sensation.

We both paused for a moment, and I was sure he had felt it too. _But how? He likes Lela, not me._

He cleared his throat and snapped me back to reality so fast I was sure I had whiplash. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. He seemed equally flustered.

He taped the banner, I climbed back down the ladder and that was that. I went back to my decorating and we both decorated in silence.

But the silence did nothing to help all the unanswered questions floating in the air.

**Author's Note: For those of you out there thinking 'JUST GET TO THE BONFIRE ALREADY!', have no fear. The promised bonfire will come in the next chapter. And it should (hopefully) be good.**

**But until then, a quick question. What do you think is the real deal between Lela and Brady? Dating? Crushing? Just friends? etc. Review with your guess. Anyone who gets it right will get a shout out in the next author's note. So, happy guessing. Ciao!**


	10. They Danced

They Danced

"It looks amazing!" Lela squealed. After nearly an hour of decorating, we stepped back to admire our handiwork. And I couldn't help but agree.

"Wow." I said simply.

"I bet everyone will love it!" Giggles added.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Lela called as she jogged towards the door.

"Come on you guys." Giggles said. "Let's get this party started!"

"Yeah." Both Brady and I said at the same time, neither of us sounding enthusiastic. Giggles grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the backyard, and Brady followed us.

I had to admit, though, the place _did _look amazing. Giggles pulled me to the center of the yard and turned on a large stereo. A dance beat pumped out of the speakers.

"Dance!" she commanded, spinning me around. I groaned, but finally started to get into it. This _was_ one of my favorite songs, after all.

…

Pretty soon, the whole backyard was filled with people dancing. I recognized a couple of them from town, but most of them were strangers. After a couple songs, I decided to grab something to drink. As I wandered through the crowd, I saw Tanner yelling at Lela. I paused and watched them. Finally, Lela threw her hands in the air and stomped off. Tanner glared at her, then looked up and saw me. I felt my cheeks color. I ducked into the crowd, hoping he didn't see me, though I was pretty certain he did.

…

"You OK?" Giggles asked as I grabbed a soda. "You look a little…worried."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, distracted. _Did Tanner see me? What will he think?_

"Seriously." She said, touching my arm gently. "You really don't look fine."

"Yeah, it's just…" I sighed. "Hey, I saw Tanner and Lela arguing earlier." I said, changing the subject.

"Yeah." She said, frowning. "Last night, they were talking in her room and he stomped away. He's been avoiding her since then."

"Hmm. Wonder what it could be." I said, taking a sip from my soda.

"Yeah." She said. She turned to glance at Lela, who was talking to one of the guests. "Well," she said suddenly, "I hope you enjoy the party. I have to go do something."

"Alright." I said, glad she had seemed to forget about my odd behavior. She began to walk off, but then she paused.

"Oh, and Mack?" she called over her shoulder. "Just do it."

As she left, I finished my soda, a feeling of dread coming over me from those three words.

…

"Hot-dogs are ready, everybody!" Lela called out.

"Finally!" someone in the crowd called out, and everybody laughed. I had to agree with them. All that dancing works up an appetite.

I got in line, eager to get my hot-dog. I grabbed one and turned to look for somewhere to sit. A sea of unfamiliar faces stared back up at me. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye: it was Giggles, waving me over. I sighed, relived I wouldn't have to sit with complete strangers.

I plopped myself down. Giggles was sitting with Brady, Lela and two people I didn't know. Before I could introduce myself, Tanner plopped down beside me. I froze and watched as Lela glared at him. He just grinned at her. Brady and Giggles both looked uncomfortable, and I imagined I looked the same.

"So, Mack…" Brady and Tanner both began at the same time. Brady blushed, and Tanner looked at him, his expression unreadable.

"Mack, what do you think of the bonfire so far?" Lela cut in quickly, trying to ease the tension.

"It's really fun. I can see why you guys do it every year." I said.

"What's your favorite part?" Tanner asked, his expression still unreadable.

"Oh, I love the dancing!" the mystery girl said.

"Nah, the food's the best." said the mystery guy.

"Nu-uh."

"Oh yeah, and you know it."

"The decorations trump both of those things." Giggles said, grinning.

Pretty soon, the three of them were debating all kinds of things. Brady and I just laughed and added in the occasional comment or two. But Lela was just looking at Tanner worriedly, and he was staring. At me.

I felt another chill go down my spine. Tanner was acting really weird. When I first met him, he was nice. Then he was being cruel. Now he was just being plain creepy.

…

Eventually, we finished eating and the music came back on. I decided to start dancing. After a couple songs, Brady came up to me.

"Hey, can I dance with you?' he asked, smiling shyly.

"Sure." I said, after a beat. _Brady being shy? That's out of character. _Still, I decided to try and enjoy myself.

The next hour was one of the funniest in my life. He made fun of my dancing, I made fun of his. He told a couple jokes and I nearly fell over laughing. I told a couple jokes and he nearly fell over laughing. I found myself enjoying the party much more with his company.

"Look at that guy's dancing." I said, pointing to a guy in a dark sweater. He tried to spin on his head, but fell.

Brady nearly doubled over laughing.

"That's why I don't breakdance." He said, and then, as if unconsciously, he touched my arm lightly.

I felt the spark again, jolting my whole body. It was stronger this time though. He began to blush and I realized he felt it too. He muttered something and began to head off into the crowd.

And at that moment, Giggles' words echoed in my head. _Just do it. _I don't know why, but I grabbed his arm and spun him around. And before he could say anything else, I kissed him.

Maybe I had kept my feelings bottled up for too long. Maybe I was tired of playing games. Maybe everybody was acting weird because there was something in the water. But in that moment, I couldn't care less. I just pressed my lips to his and held on.

It was like the world was in slow motion. I felt all the feelings bubble up inside me. Nobody I'd ever kissed before could give me a feeling even close to what I felt in that moment. And as quickly as it had started, it was over.

He stared at me, shocked. I probably looked shocked to. _What did I just do?_

"I'm sorry." I said, turning away so he wouldn't see me crying. He grabbed my arm, just like I had grabbed his moments before. He looked at me and I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry!" I wretched myself free from his grip and ran. I didn't know where I was going, but anywhere would be better than the party.

…

A gentle rain began pouring as I ran. I had always loved the rhythmic sound of rain. It had calmed me down when I was little.

Eventually, I felt myself slowing to a halt, and I looked around. I had run to the spot in the forest where Brady had taken me that day. I let the memories flood me and I realized I had just ruined my friendship with the person I trusted the most in this world.

I let myself sink to the ground and I cried.

**Author's Note: Here it is, finally! The next chapter!**

**The story is beginning to come to an end. Some of you might be sensing what's going on by now, but for those of you that don't, never fear. An explanation will come soon.**

**And now off I must go to do that pile of stuff I should be doing instead of writing fan-fiction. ;)**

**Ciao!**


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